On Wednesday, January 17th, local time, American health technology company Masimo announced on its official website that it welcomes the latest ruling of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in the United States, as the court has reinstated bans on two high-end Apple smartwatches.
On the same day, Apple also told the media that it would begin selling versions of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States without monitoring blood oxygen levels. The adjusted versions were scheduled to start selling in official physical stores and websites on Thursday, January 18th.
Source: Apple's US official website
Although the new version still has a tool for monitoring blood oxygen levels, the official website shows that watches sold in the United States will not be able to activate this feature. Apple claims that when users click on the blood oxygen icon on their watch, a warning will pop up on the display screen, guiding them to view the explanation on the Apple website.
Analysis indicates that it is not common for Apple to remove features from released products, and failure to monitor blood oxygen function may reduce the attractiveness of watches to some consumers. According to Counterpoint Research, Apple Watch's market share in the global smartwatch market has reached a quarter.
In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, Apple's wearable devices, home, and accessories business (including Apple Watch, AirPods, and other products) achieved sales of $39.845 billion. Most of Apple's products are produced overseas, and the resumption of the ban is bound to have a negative impact on this sector.
As of the close of the US stock market on Wednesday, Apple's stock price closed down 0.52%, further expanding its market value compared to the world's top ranked Microsoft. Massimo's stock price rose by over 2%, reaching a new high since August last year. Before Thursday trading, Massimo continued to rise 0.7%.
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In October of this year, the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 violated Massimo's pulse oximeter patent, prohibiting Apple from importing and selling these two high-end watches in the United States, effective December 26th.
On that day, Apple immediately appealed the verdict. On December 27th of the following day, the United States Federal Circuit Court of Appeals announced the suspension of the sales ban, but the latest ruling on January 17th restored the ban. Currently, Apple's appeal is still ongoing, and it is believed that this process may last for a year or more.
Apple wrote in its latest statement, "During the appeal period, the company is taking measures to comply with the ruling while ensuring that watch user customers are subject to limited interference. We believe that the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals should overturn ITC's decision, and we strongly disagree with ITC's decision and the resulting orders."
Apple's statement also criticized Massimo's "W1" watch, which Massimo previously accused of posing a threat to the competition between the two Apple Watches. Apple claimed that W1 did not appear in Massimo's consumer channels before the patent dispute broke out, and the sales of this product were not high.
Massimo W1 Watch Source: Massimo Official Website
